'Pure Tour' Coming May 6-7 - Page 2

One of those surprises will be the expanded printed tour guide. "We want people to enjoy the tour book as a nice memento of the day's event—so there'll be lots of eye candy, with a more luxurious look and feel," Palmer said.

One of the Eichlers on the tour belongs to Jennifer and Andrew Christgau-Aquino. Jennifer grew up near the Highlands and "knew it was a spot where we were interested in buying." When the Aquinos finally found the right home in 2013, they sold their century-old Craftsman house in Burlingame and went mid-century modern.

Their approach to remodeling the 1957 Eichler the following year, with designer Kristin Bergman and contractor Henry Calvert, reportedly is a shining victory for Jim Palmer's "mission."

"The woman who owned it [before us] had lived there for 60 years," Jennifer said. "She wasn't a modernist, or even a person who appreciated mid-century modern," she sniffed of the arched doorways, myriad flooring types, and curtained windows.

"We could see that the home had a lot of potential, so it was perfect for us. What we wanted to do was to let the architecture shine," she said.

The previous owner had greatly enlarged the bathroom, so the Aquinos converted part of that space to a closet and, for a splash of wow, added an eye-catching backyard-facing glass wall in the shower. Because of a huge oak tree in their yard and a drop-off in elevation to the house next door, "We knew privacy-wise, there wasn't a problem."

Palmer's 1956 Eichler is also on the tour for the first time. He bought it in 2010, but his history with the Highlands tour dates back an additional four years.

"We went on the [2006] tour to really kind of scope out the houses [as potential buyers]. It just seemed like a pie-in-the-sky dream for us then," he reminisced. And four years after buying their four-bedroom, two-bath, "We weren't quite ready for the 2014 tour. We had a major landscaping job going on."

Almost as exciting for Palmer as finally getting his own home on the May showcase is the news that the tour will open the doors to a true rarity—an original Eichler two-story. "There are not very many of those around," he said proudly of the 1965 Claude Oakland design.

Not that he would trade his own Eichler, newly equipped with a backyard fire pit and hot tub, for it. No way.

"It's nice to have some place warm to go to," he said happily of his own Eichler digs. "I've always said an Eichler is more than a house. It's a museum for art and things." Spoken like a true missionary.

The May 6-7 tour (10am-3pm each day) is priced at $60 per single day, $100 for a two-day pass. VIP happy hour (7-10pm Saturday May 6) is $50. Tickets are now on sale at the 'Eichler Home Tour' web site: eichlerhometour.org.